Al-Rabadi, Mailer (2025) When White Whales Resurface - Replicating Seminal Work on the Interrelation of Mood and Thought Suppression with an Exploration of Rumination. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Thought suppression and rumination are maladaptive emotional control strategies implicated in the onset and maintenance of several psychopathologies. We sought to replicate and extend Wenzlaff, Wegner, and Klein’s (1991) seminal work on the relationship between moods and thoughts, with an additional focus on the relationship between suppression and rumination. We conducted a laboratory experiment (N = 61) to achieve this. Participants were assigned to different conditions where they were told either to try and think of a specific target (expression), or to try not to (suppression). Mood induction using music was employed to investigate mood-thought interactions. Contrary to the original findings, suppression did not lead to more target thoughts between subjects, though a within-subjects effect emerged when participants first suppressed, then expressed. Participants did not report consistent mood ratings that corresponded with the induced moods between experimental phases. Furthermore, an ANOVA interaction effect showed that suppressing in negative mood conditions increased positive mood ratings, highlighting the complex interplay between suppression and mood. Correlational analyses revealed no significant relationship between thought suppression-induced intrusions and ruminative thought patterns, challenging theoretical assumptions. These findings indicate a failure to replicate the original claims and suggest further research is needed into individual differences in rumination and suppression, as well as mood induction procedures. Theoretical implications for mental control models are discussed. Keywords: thought suppression, rumination, rebound effect, emotion regulation strategies, ironic process theory, replication
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Wessel, J.P. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Mar 2025 11:19 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Mar 2025 11:19 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4771 |
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